Marketing

I've been having so much fun creating and am backed up on my ideas for posts but I wanted to write about the thing that has kept me occupied for over a week.
In order to assess the ability to sell from my home, I decided to have what I ended up calling a 'marketing party'. Who knows if I thought this up or was inspired by something I saw on the web but I can't point to a particular source.
Here's how it worked ...
I turned my library into a 'showroom' where I displayed several of the items I've made.
I made 'stations', one for each type of item. I wrote a short description of the source/inspiration for the item and asked 3 questions at each station. There were about 8 stations.
I then asked some friends over to go through the stations and provide their feedback on little forms I made up(example below).

For their 'trouble' they got a free pair of earrings. I also provided 'light fare' which consisted of some apps, quiche, salad and wine and cookies and dried fruit for dessert.
It worked pretty well! I didn't make any sales, but that wasn't the main point. They all loved the items and I'm hopeful they'll be back to make purchases in the future.

I also described a 'custom' service: I could make a switch plate to match a shower curtain(for instance) or make up a style of earrings with different metal or beads.
The trick will be timing. I need to be available when they are in need. I'd love to be known as the 'go to' lady when a decorating or jewelry 'emergency' occurs.

I learned SO much from the first small party with three friends from work.
First there were either too many stations, too many items at each station or both.
It took them WAY longer to go through the room than I thought it would. This means they were really engaging and putting some thought into their responses.... so I think that is some measure of success. However, if there had been 10 people there, it would have taken AGES as I think only about 3 people can be in the room at once.

Also, it might have been better to have some food first and then send them in.With only 3 of them they could take a break but another challenge will be organizing a larger group.

Another thing I learned was that I can host a party, prepare the food, and prepare the displays, without feeling like it was WAY too much work. It was a lot of work but it was doable.
I think I'd change the menu next time. Something less greasy, maybe finger sandwiches... and I made 3 kinds of hot savory apps which were cold by the time anyone ate any. My husband and I ended up eating them... not so good for the diet!
I want to figure out something more healthy to offer.

Here are some of the 'posters'  from the display:

 The three questions fall into these basic categories:

• Style
• Display
• Price

 I told the participants they didn't have to go to all stations. I also said they didn't have to answer the questions exactly if they had something else to say.
What I wish I had done was make sure they did the 'final stop' station. None of them got that far.

The feedback I received was good but I didn't really learn anything earth shattering I didn't already know about my products. One of the main benefits was their reaction to my pricing. I also learned a lot about hosting this type of event! Even without the 'final stop' feedback.

Here's the starting point:

 Here's the feedback form:

I've got some more people to ask to go through the stations.
I want to get some of my artist friends to come and see what is going on, also some teenagers and college students. I have a cousin who works in marketing and want to ask her how I've done.

Eventually I envision the 'showroom' would be a room for selling things and the 'marketing' display might move up to the studio. The marketing party would only happen occasionally. A 'sale' day could be an open house for one day every few months.... maybe more often if there is more demand. I'll post updates when I have digested the results after a few more showings.

Stay tuned for more posts:
- the new 4-sided display project that is under way but on hold for the marketing party and Christmas.
- tote bag using 'tube' method (like pillowcases)
- more ideas all the time!

Creative burst

Two very successful creative attempts this weekend.

First a pair of shell button earrings:

I loved these buttons when I got them in a batch of buttons last year. They are so full of character. I have enough to make 6 more pair. I made the oval jump rings myself. I think I might try a heavier gauge. I wonder how they'd look in silver?

Then I made some clay things for the first time in over a month. This one stood out:

It is about 1.25" x 1.5". I used a rock to make the texture, then mica powder of various shades sort of trying to mimic mother of pearl.
I'm very pleased with it although yesterday I glued a metal 'button back' to it to wear it as a pendant and I used E-6000 glue. Maybe I didn't give it enough time to set but it didn't hold and seemed like rubber cement. I was expecting something hard. I guess the E6000 is good for bead jewelry where it needs to give a little. I'll investigate other types of glue.

Elephant!

I made this pendant by enclosing a disk of clay in matching wire. The relief image on the disk is a copy of the motifs on the dress. In person the purple color of the tree trunk is a better match. Too bad you can't see the tree on the dress better.
I'll try to take separate picture and add them here for a better look at the pendant with the very cute elephant, and the dress bodice.
I'm also thinking of making earrings from another of the motifs on the dress. Stay tuned!

Little Green Men

Saw a tutorial on these guys a while ago. Never thought it would be something I wanted to try... I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately... anyway, my brother's birthday was coming up and I thought I'd like to send him something hand made.... and this seemed like a project he might like.
So... I'd also seen another tutorial about an old witch's face out of clay and kind of followed what I remembered from that.
Here they are:

They certainly have their own unique personalities!
I think I'll try more of them and see if I can perfect it a bit. The second one is going to be a fridge magnet for my husband who really likes them although he thinks I put too much stuff and color on the first one.
There are 3 different leaf colors. A dark green mix (next time I'd do a Skinner blend first) with gold leaf on it, then 'crackled'  through the pasta machine; same color with more translucent and white added,; and some light green leaves I'd made a while back, intending to string them as jewelry, they looked great added to the darker colors.


Addition in 2016:
I've started 2 new Green Men. I'm thinking I might make a 2-sided one to hang in the new garden (see post in  May 2016).
I started with an 'ultralight' base:

 Sorry, there is no size reference... it is about 5" tall.


 Next I covered the base in a green/black blend and added features... using as a guide the witch face from  this You Tube video:

I tried making the face appear happier and more tranquil than the witch.... I also looked at this video.

Next, I made as bunch of different leaves. Some I had made a while ago, others I made from cane leftovers, some I made new. The variety was impressive and made a nice effect:

I like it but it seems a bit 'crowded' and I want to make some larger leaves that will stick out further to balance the large face...maybe in the ~NW and ~SE directions.
 One thing I had forgotten is that for the smaller ones, I'd set the face onto a base that was large enough to support the leaves so they could stick out away from the face more.
 I can fix this by putting the whole thing on a base layer and adding more leaves, and even use that base to attach a hanger of some kind.
I have a second ultralight base.... I was thinking I could put the two of them back to back and hang it from the 'teepee' so a face can be seen from 2 sides.
I need to make a lot more leaves for another face... maybe I could make them quite different.... stay tuned!

Stay tuned for a catalog of items...
 by the C for you at:

http://bytheC4u.blogspot.com

Sew Fun!

I'd forgotten how long it has been since I sat at my sewing machine. After an inspiring visit with my creative mentors and former neighbors, I found myself with some lovely upholstery fabric samples:

Each one is ~25" square! It is not enough for many patterns but since there are groups of coordinating samples, they are begging to be a patchwork... something.

I found many patterns on the web but this bag intrigued me most: (http://www.heirloomcreations.net/archives/free-schlep-bag-pattern/)

Here's my finished bag made from 3 samples:

This was a very difficult fabric to work with. I think if I had bound all of the edges of each piece first it might have helped. This was a particularly loose weave. I knew it would be difficult but wanted to use it as my test bag because I REALLY liked the other set of 3 samples I have and wanted the more refined bag to be made from them.

It was also difficult to line up the patchwork squares when sewing them together. They seemed to shift so the top piece always ended up longer. I'm not sure how to deal with that. Maybe more pinning although that didn't seem to help much. I wonder if there is a special foot I should use on the machine?
 I found myself reluctant to rip any more seams than I had to because the fabric ravelled so badly, so I left them as is.
Another issue is that the fabric snags very easily. I can't imagine using it on furniture.


Regardless of the difficulties, I love the results! It has a very cozy feel to it.

I'm planning to try to use the scraps to make some accessories:
Cup Sleeve: http://craftystaci.com/2011/01/10/reversible-coffee-cup-sleeves/
Business Card Holder: http://craftycupboard.net/how-to-business-card-holder/
     and/or:
  http://tamdoll.blogspot.com/2008/03/business-card-holder-tutorial.html

I even found this cute rooster pattern:
http://www.redtedart.com/2012/02/10/pyramid-juggling-bag-chickens/
I saw these made as door stops and juggling bags, as well as pin cushions. In fact the first time I saw this is was from the same folks who gave me the fabric samples!

When I get any of these done I'll either add them to this post or include them in a future post.

Some technical details of constructing the bag:
- There is a paper edging glued all around each sample.

Removing this took a careful iron. These samples were 70% rayon and 30% polyester so they weren't too sensitive to the heat. I also used a towel on top. Perhaps I was too cautious but the remaining samples I have are 100% polyester so I'll have to be as careful there as I was the first time. Sometimes it seemed to come off more easily in one direction rather than the other.

- The pattern called for 'fat quarters'. I had 3 swatches 25" square. Here's my calculations to determine how many samples it would take out of particular sizes of squares:

I figured out that 3 samples would make a bag with 6" squares. The original bag had 7" squares.

- Another challenge was that the original pattern used 8 fat quarters, potentially 8 different fabrics, and I only had 3. I decided to make the triangle pieces(body and lining) and the handles out of one sample(nice as the handles attach to these triangle pieces) and then use the other two samples to make the 24 squares I needed(12 for the body and 12 for the lining). I could get as many as 36 of the 6" squares but I only need 24 for the bag, so I'll have a spare 6"x25" strip from each sample to use for accessories,  as well as a small piece of the third sample which I used for a pocket inside.
I also figured out that if I used 4 squares of the same fabric for the bottom of the body and 4 squares of the other fabric for the lining bottom, it was the only way to get the patchwork of the rest of the body to work 'correctly' (none of the same fabric next to itself), and this makes the lining not quite match the body, but since the triangles inside and out are the same it isn't noticeable.

- In retrospect, I think it makes sense to make the bottom 4 squares be all one piece. I think I'll try that next time.

- The pattern called for a lining made of 'batting'. I had old quilt batting scraps but I think something like an iron-on interfacing might have been a better choice. It would have helped with the ravelling and made for a 'crisper' feel. I think I want this for the next version. I think the accessories will benefit from this as well so before I make them I'm going to get some.

- A final detail, I think I should have top stitched all of the seams as they do not want to iron flat. If the next fabrics are like that (they are very different than the first ones, tightly woven and thinner, although of a similar color) I'll try it.

At this rate I'll be headed back to my friends for more samples! I feel a little silly for being so instantly attracted to this and distracted from what I've been doing(polymer clay), but I'm thinking of making a decorative button out of clay for the bag so it is all part of the creative process.... I know one thing, the longer I work in this room the more I want to be here! :)

More clay projects

As I've been working I've done more than I've shown.... here are some other things I've made in the first two weeks of working with polymer clay:

Translucent clay with gold leaf on the left(salt?) and green glitter in translucent clay on the right(pepper?):

This stemmed votive was covered in silver clay then textured. After baking I applied acrylic paint and flatback crystals. It needs a smaller candle without the metal cup:

 This  small dish is covered in a checkerboard cane:

 These are supposed to be Marshmallow Peeps. My husband says they look just like them. I got this idea from a Polymer Clay TV video. Kira made the little bunny Peeps and I think I know why as it was difficult to form the Peep shape in the clay. These were my first tries. I'll be making more:

 These pink buttons look much better now that they have been painted with ink to bring out the pattern:

 Here are a bunch of miscellaneous pieces. From the upper left corner going around: a future pendant, left over from a project I haven't taken a picture of yet; then some tubular purple beads. One looks like a crayon wrapper; a flat heart, two nice pink beads I'm going to try to polish; a translucent disk with a silver band; 4 purple and black beads, an odd silver pendant... needs a backing I think:

A translucent disk with home-made beach glass embedded.The glass was from a green wine bottle and had many thin slivers. Just a thin layer of clay on top:

More as it happens.

Creative frenzy... and mundane details

One week and one day ago in my last post I had made some earrings out of electronic components, resistors. I ended up with 37 pair(including a pair for myself) and they were a huge hit at the party! Everyone loved them.
I've made 5 more pair, for a few stragglers that didn't get a pair.

And the creativity has been flowing, in between a brake job on my car, and a broken water heater....

Here's a nice shot of the votive candle from my last post with a light inside:

 It came out nicely. The dark area at the bottom is because the votive candle is in a metal cup. Kind of annoying. But it does make the old candle easy to remove.

Today(well, yesterday now) I went out and bought some more colors of clay. I had to get Sculpy III for blue as Michael's had nothing firmer. I also got some Fimo soft, red and yellow as the only Fimo classic colors they had were black and white and I have some Kato coming in on Thursday in those colors. I ended up mixing in some of that super-stiff Kato pearl and it helped a little.

I wanted to try something like a rainbow. I found a new way to make a Skinner-like blend, using tear drops on Cindy Lietz's 'Polymer Clay Tutor' on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLAfFTcfSA8

 It was easier to make the tear drops than the triangles. Here they are squished down a little:

 And they blended up nicely:

I made the blend into a rainbow spiral:

It sliced up nicely also:

I flattened each slice on setting 6:

And applied them to this little Ball jar mug:

 Here's the finished product, lit and unlit.

 Not bad, and way outside of my usual color palette.

With the leftover piece of cane, I decided to try the 'Reason to Friesen Challenge' over at Polymer Clay Adventure (http://polymerclayadventure.com/reasontofriesen/) monthly project. It is a funky pod. First I took that rainbow cane and reduced it and made it into a flower(cut into 7 pieces, one in the middle, six around it).... then did that again(reduce, cut,  flower). Has a butterfly wing effect which is so cool! I took slices of it and covered a pod shaped lump of clay:

Then I took Kira's lead and made some cute little cups:

 Pre-baked them then attached them to the pod with head pins and beads.

 And here's the little beast, looking pretty cute:

This was my first 3-D object from clay. Also the first time I baked some bits first to stick onto something later. I sort of like it! I think I'll post it over on Polymer Clay Adventure, too. It is also worth noting that it turned out quite dark. I could have mixed in more translucent to lighten it. I believe this is a property of Sculpy III. I've been using Kato mostly and plan to continue.
The green section is almost invisible so I'm not sure the green cups were the right choice. Maybe yellow would have been better. The cap could have been a little more contrasting.
I also notice a fingerprint right in front.... but just looked up ways to eliminate it!
 These are critiques... since I'm just learning I want to get everything I can out of each 'lesson'.
I am amazed that after only 2 weeks I have so many finished items, and have learned so many different techniques. I've also found at least 3 communities of crafters... there are certainly dozens! Are there any larger groups of communities?

More projects in my next post....

polymer clay.... who knew?

If I'd known how much fun I'd have with polymer clay, I wouldn't have hesitated at all when I bought my first supplies, last week.
My inspiration was 'the button' (see post from earlier) and a video I saw on Beads Baubles and Jewels (of course I can't find it now) and then the true inspiration came when I saw this video:
http://blog.craftygoat.com/2008/01/video_how_to_make_button_molds.html
which was particularly good because it showed how to deal with the shank (embed a jump ring BEFORE de-molding). I wrote to Angela with a question about baking with a shank (in a bed of cornstarch which has worked well for me) and she wrote back with encouragement. I bought her book but it isn't here yet and I'm galloping along without it. Hope it arrives soon!

So in my earlier post you saw my first try, which didn't work well, and my second try which came out much better.
Here are some molds I've made with the original button and the resulting copies:

Notice how I used only the central part of the first one... and I put a hole in it to use as a pendent or charm.
I learned while teaching myself bead work that every piece is a lesson. I'm learning SO much. Also notice the copper color in the 'Cinderella coach' mold. this is from PearlEx powder. One site said to use it as a mold release. I didn't like this idea for a couple of reasons:
- the 'release' effect caused the button to come out of the mold before I was ready. I have not had a problem with clay sticking in these molds.
- all of the powder didn't come out and now it is hard to get out, but comes out on the buttons.
So I won't be trying that again.
Another way to apply the PearlEx is with a fingertip. My fingertips must be larger than average... I end up with the powder on parts of my finger that I can't angle properly to apply where I want. The powder seems to get everywhere.
When I put the powder in the mold I used a q-tip. I think I'll use that when applying the powder next time to see if that goes better.[Later: It did not go better! With a finger it goes only on the raised part. With a q-tip is gets between and causes a different effect. I keep getting it under my fingernail... I think I'm trying to go too fast. Patience!]

OK, now things get fun. I watched TONS of videos while waiting for my supplies. Mostly from PolymerClay TV:
http://polymerclayproductions.com/
Ilysa and Kira are great. Their videos are interesting and well done. They also vary quite a bit. Sometimes it is mixed media, other times it is very basic 'how to' stuff with clay. I have not found a place where I can just go through them in order. I found myself at YouTube and just sort of watching randomly. At first I wanted the basics and now I find myself going back to watching the more advanced ones again.
They have taught me so much and Ilysa even visited my blog. She probably doesn't have time to read all this but if so, Hi Ilysa!)

Two new terms I found:
- cane: these are 'logs' of clay, usually with a design embedded inside. Everything from a simple 'bullseye', to a spiral, to a kaleidoscope, and more is possible. I'm doing very basic things now but hope to learn more.

-  Skinner blend: Named for Judith Skinner, this clay sheet starts with two separate colors which are blended cleverly into one continuously varying sheet. I've tried making a few but somehow I do something wrong at the beginning most times and end up with something very long and skinny. A couple of times I've done it correctly and it is cool, but even when I mess up, I've been able to use the result anyway. This learning phase is fun! If I get something I didn't expect, I use it anyway. This is helping me see things differently and transform my attitude.

As I'm learning 'more is possible' is an often used phrase with polymer clay. Another great line is 'nothing is a mistake'. I think this may be 'my medium' :) And Ilysa says 'Have fun with it!'.... I am!

So, Ilysa's video about putting clay on glass got me excited on Saturday so I found a blue glass dish that was given to me (from the same friend who liked the 'Cinderella button', Hi Linda!) and tried covering it with clay:

It doesn't look like much, but parts of it are very nice. Notice the black spots on the top on the left... this was very close to the element in my toaster oven. I've since turned the shelf upside down to give a little more head room. I really like the copper color on the base with the texture. I actually made the color by mixing PearlEx powder into the clay. I wish I'd put a contrasting color of PearlEx on it... but I'll be making more like this so I'll do it on those. This was a test piece. I made a simple cane and cut slices off it but then ran out before the piece was covered. So I made another one, but they are very different. From another angle you can see the dark outline of the second cane better:

I was very pleased with this test. I liked the way the light shone though the translucent clay but the small dish made it difficult to see this.
I tried again using another dish from the blue set, this one is just a plate:

but wow!
It looks like slices of agate or something. I am just loving the way the texture is visible through the translucent clay. I put some translucent into each color. In part to alter the color but also I have a big block of translucent and not much of anything else.
In this piece, the color is all from the glass. the clay is shades of grey/silver.
I also stretched the slices of cane in the pasta machine. Different thickness when slicing produced different effects after stretching. Using a roller it was easier to keep the slices round.

I went out to the store and found a bunch of inexpensive glass to try covering. I also got some additional clay colors.

As soon as I got home I made this:

This was a clear glass globe and the clay was blue. This was taken in low light with a candle inside. Here it is with the lights on:

It still looks pretty good. That first dish doesn't look as good with the lights on.

After that I made another one:

This looks blue too but it actually purple with a lot of pearl(the stuff that won't condition by itself) mixed in. This piece is not baked yet but I just love how I made the spiral cane into a square... I just formed it that way... this stuff is amazing!
I don't like the diamond texture as much as the swirly texture on the other piece but I thought it would be good with the way the square spirals are arranged in a diamond pattern. I also smeared a lot of PearlEx on the texture to make it pop, but maybe too much. We'll see after baking. I think it might need a band at the top too.

So that's about all I've done so far. If I keep this up I'm going to need more clay soon.
I'm a little worried about ordering from Amazon again. Those big bricks are nice and the price is good but one of two bricks I ordered had a problem. I've read that quality can be a problem due to heat and storage in warehouses.

I went to the store Sunday and bought some 2oz Fimo clay blocks. Some of them say 'soft' on them. Mixing these with the 'bad' Pearl block makes a nice usable clay that works ok in canes. I didn't mention it earlier but until yesterday, all the clay I had was Kato.

Off to do a few chores and then more clay!

Who could resist?

In my earlier post, I mentioned a large purchase from Fire Mountain Gems which arrived last week. One of the items in it was a bag of electronic resistors!
<should show some resistors here>

First, I had fun sorting them. I bought them with the idea that I'd use them in jewelry. Serendipity in action, one of our lead engineers is retiring this week and I'm making as many pairs of resistor earrings as I can by the party.

So much fun! Now I just hope the others at the party think so too!

These are pretty geeky. For the true geek, here is a picture of the meaning of the color code (stripes) on the resistors.... I guess true geeks would already know the code.

I shamelessly stole this from a web site... and I don't even know which one.

Anyway, resistance is futile! I must go and make more....